Integrated ethanol and renewable diesel facility

ABSTRACT

An integrated facility for the co-production of ethanol and renewable diesel fuel is provided. Corn oil, an ethanol production by-product, is utilized as a feedstock for a renewable diesel plant operating within the same general facility as the corn ethanol plant. By-products of the renewable diesel plant, such as fuel gas, steam, and/or naphtha, can be utilized in various parts of the ethanol plant to increase the operating efficiency thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally pertains to an integrated facility forthe co-production of ethanol and renewable diesel fuel. In particular,corn oil isolated from the whole stillage of an ethanol distillationprocess is utilized as a feedstock for a renewable diesel plantoperating within the same general facility as the corn ethanol plant.By-products of the renewable diesel plant, such as fuel gas, steam, andnaphtha, can be utilized in various parts of the ethanol plant therebyincrease the operating efficiency thereof.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Corn oil is a by-product of a corn ethanol production. The corn oil isgenerally carried through the fermentation and distillation portions ofa corn ethanol plant into the whole stillage that is removed from thedistillation system. The whole stillage is commonly separated into athin stillage, which includes the corn oil, and a cake that can be driedto produce dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), which can beused as an animal feed. The thin stillage can be processed to removemoisture therefrom and form nutritive syrup that can also be used as ananimal feed material. Alternatively, the corn oil may be extracted fromthe thin stillage and be made a saleable product.

The corn oil extracted from the thin still has many industrial uses,such as in soaps, paints, rustproofing materials, inks, textiles, andinsecticides. Corn oil can also be used as a feedstock in the productionof alternative fuels such as biodiesel and renewable diesel. Biodieselrefers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel comprisinglong-chain alkyl (methyl, ethyl, or propyl) esters. Biodiesel isgenerally not considered to be a full replacement of conventionalpetrodiesel for use in most diesel engines. Rather, it is generallyblended with petrodiesel for use in the retail diesel fuel marketplace.Renewable diesel, on the other hand, is produced by hydrotreatment ofcorn oil, for example, resulting in a hydrocarbon fuel that is verysimilar to petroleum diesel in its chemical composition.

A number of reaction schemes exist for conversion of corn oil intorenewable diesel. Hydrotreating is one such process in which the cornoil feedstock is reacted with hydrogen under elevated temperature andpressure to change the chemical composition of the feed-stock. In thecase of renewable diesel, hydrogen is introduced to the feedstock in thepresence of a catalyst convert the triglyceride molecules intoparaffinic hydrocarbons. In addition to creating a fuel that is verysimilar to petrodiesel, this process creates other hydrocarbonby-products including lower hydrocarbon fuel gas compounds (e.g.,methane, ethane, propane, and butane) and higher hydrocarbon naphtha.U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0155296, incorporated byreference herein in its entirety, discloses an exemplary renewablediesel system.

Generally, the corn oil feedstock is produced at a location remote fromthe renewable diesel facility, thus requiring transport of the corn oilvia pipeline, railway tankers, or tanker trucks. This addedtransportation cost increases the overall expense in the manufacture ofrenewable diesel and decreases its competitiveness with petrodiesel asan alternative fuel source.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the present invention seek to eliminate theforegoing drawbacks of conventional renewable diesel production byco-locating renewable diesel and corn ethanol production facilities. Notonly does co-location of these facilities reduce transportation costs,but also permit further cost savings through integration of variousby-products of renewable diesel production within the corn ethanolproduction facility.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided anintegrated process for the co-production of ethanol and renewable dieselfuel. The process comprises distilling an ethanol-containing beer withindistillation apparatus of an ethanol plant to produce an ethanol-richoverhead stream and a solids-containing, whole stillage stream. Corn oilis recovered from the ethanol plant (e.g., through the use of wholestillage processing apparatus). The corn oil from the ethanol plant isthen reacted with hydrogen in a reaction system of a renewable dieselplant to produce a mixture of reaction products comprising renewablediesel fuel, fuel gas, and naphtha. The reaction products are directedto a distillation system of the renewable diesel plant for separation ofthe reaction products into a renewable diesel fuel stream, a fuel gasstream, and a naphtha stream. At least a portion of the fuel gas streamis combusted within one or more devices located within or utilizedduring the operation of the ethanol plant.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided anintegrated process for the co-production of ethanol and renewable dieselfuel. An ethanol-containing beer is distilled within distillationapparatus of an ethanol plant to produce an ethanol-rich overhead streamand a solids-containing, whole stillage stream. Corn oil is recoveredwithin the ethanol plant (e.g., via whole stillage processingapparatus). The corn oil from the ethanol plant is reacted with hydrogenin a reaction system of a renewable diesel plant to produce a mixture ofreaction products comprising renewable diesel fuel, fuel gas, andnaphtha. The reaction products are directed to a renewable dieseldistillation system for separation of the reaction products into arenewable diesel fuel stream, a fuel gas stream, and a naphtha stream.At least a portion of the ethanol-rich overhead stream is condensed toproduce an ethanol product stream. A least a portion of the naphthastream is added to the ethanol product stream to produce a denaturedethanol product.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided anintegrated process for the co-production of ethanol and renewable dieselfuel. An ethanol-containing beer is distilled within distillationapparatus of an ethanol plant to produce an ethanol-rich overhead streamand a solids-containing, whole stillage stream. Corn oil is alsorecovered from the ethanol plant (e.g., via whole stillage processingapparatus). The corn oil from the ethanol plant is reacted with hydrogenin a reaction system of a renewable diesel plant to produce a mixture ofreaction products comprising renewable diesel fuel, fuel gas, andnaphtha. The reaction products are directed through a heat exchanger tocool the reaction products and generate steam. The cooled reactionproducts are directed a renewable diesel distillation system forseparation of the reaction products into a renewable diesel fuel stream,a fuel gas stream, and a naphtha stream. The steam is directed to asteam distribution header for providing steam to the ethanol plant.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan integrated facility for the co-production of ethanol and renewablediesel fuel. The facility comprises an ethanol plant and a renewablediesel plant. The ethanol plant comprises distillation apparatusoperable to separate an ethanol-containing beer into an ethanol-richoverhead stream and a solids-containing, whole stillage stream, and cornoil recovery apparatus operable to produce a corn oil stream. Therenewable diesel plant comprises a reaction system operably coupled withthe corn oil recovery apparatus to receive at least a portion of thecorn oil stream and produce a reaction product stream comprisingrenewable diesel fuel, naphtha, and fuel gas, and a distillation systemoperable to separate the reaction product stream into a renewable dieselfuel stream, a naphtha stream, and a fuel gas stream. The fuel gasstream is operably coupled with one or more fuel gas-combusting deviceslocated within or utilized during operation of the ethanol plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is diagram of an integrated ethanol and renewable dieselproduction facility according to one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram of a renewable diesel plant that may beused in the facility of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning to FIG. 1, an integrated ethanol and renewable diesel productionfacility 10 is illustrated. In particular, facility 10 comprises anethanol plant 12 and a renewable diesel plant 14. In a departure fromconventional practice, the ethanol plant 12 and renewable diesel plant14 are co-located so that products and by-products of each facility maybe readily shared thereby reducing the cost of facility operation.

Ethanol plant 12 can be configured in a conventional manner, with thebiomass material undergoing initial processing and fermentation toproduce an ethanol-containing “beer”. In particular embodiments, ethanolplant 12 utilizes a biomass material as the source of carbohydrate andsugar for the fermentation process. A plant or vegetable oil is animportant by-product of ethanol plant 12, as this forms the feedstock torenewable diesel plant 14, it is preferable for the biomass material tocontain suitable amounts of plant oil. Exemplary biomass feed materialsfor use with the present invention include corn, sorghum, and pearlmillet. In the U.S., however, corn is the predominant feedstock for fuelethanol production. Accordingly, the description set forth below is madewith respect to corn and corn by-products. This description is exemplaryand should not be taken as a limitation on the scope of the presentinvention.

The preparation and fermentation of the corn feedstock within ethanolplant 12 may be carried out according to any number of methods known tothose of skill in the art and is not repeated herein. Followingfermentation, the ethanol-containing beer may be stored within a beerwell 16 while it awaits further processing. In certain embodiments, thebeer comprises between about 10% to about 20% by volume ethanol, morepreferably about 15% by volume ethanol, and between about 5% to about20% by weight solids, more preferably about 10% by weight solids.

The beer is fed to distillation apparatus 18 via stream 20 forseparation and recovery of the ethanol contained therein. Distillationapparatus 18, which may comprise one or more distillation columns,produces an overhead stream 22 comprising primarily ethanol and somewater. In certain embodiments, overhead stream 22 comprises betweenabout 80% to about 99% by volume ethanol, 90% to about 98% by volumeethanol, or about 95% by volume ethanol, with the balance comprisingwater. In order to be suitable for use as fuel-grade ethanol, theremaining water needs to be removed from the overhead stream. Furtherseparation of the water from overhead stream 22 is accomplished by adehydration unit 24. Dehydration unit 24 can be equipped with molecularsieve technology to achieve this separation. In certain embodiments, themolecular sieve comprises an alumino silicate material. In certainembodiments, stream 22 is condensed so that a portion can be refluxedback to apparatus 18, however, this need not always be the case. Inthose embodiments in which stream 22 was previously condensed, thestream should be vaporized before it is passed to dehydration unit 24.This vaporization can be accomplished by one or more heat exchangers 26feed with steam supplied via a plant distribution header. Asubstantially pure ethanol stream 28 (i.e., greater than 99% by volumeethanol, or approximately 200 proof) exits dehydration unit 24 and isstored in a storage vessel 30 to await further processing. Governmentregulations require that prior to transport fuel grade ethanol (i.e.,ethanol approaching 200 proof concentration) must be denatured orrendered non-potable. Generally, this is accomplished by adding about 2%sweet gasoline to the recovered ethanol. However, as explained ingreater detail below, the present invention utilizes a by-product fromrenewable diesel plant 14, namely naphtha, for this purpose. The naphthaobtained from renewable diesel plant 14 may be added to the recoveredethanol via stream 32. In certain embodiments, the naphtha may be addedto the recovered ethanol at a level of between about 0.5% to about 5% byvolume, between about 1% to about 3% by volume, or about 2% by volume.The denatured ethanol product may be stored in a vessel 34 to awaittransportation away from facility 10.

The bottoms from distillation apparatus 18 comprises a whole stillagestream 36.

Several products can be produced from whole stillage stream 36 includingcorn oil, a nutritive corn syrup, and dried distillers grains withsolubles (DDGS). The whole stillage stream 36 may be separated by acentrifuge 38 into a thin stillage stream 40 and a cake 42. The thinstillage stream 40 generally comprises between about 5% to about 10% byweight solids, and more preferably about 7% by weight solids. Thebalance of the thin stillage comprises mainly water and corn oil. Thethin stillage is concentrated within a multiple-effect evaporator 44.Steam from the steam distribution header is introduced into a firsteffect 46 in indirect heat exchange relationship with the thin stillagestream 40. Moisture is evaporated from the thin stillage and removedfrom first effect 46 as process steam stream 48. The concentratedstillage product 50 is removed from first effect 46 and a portion of thecorn oil contained therein is separated as stream 52. The separation ofthe corn oil may be achieved through the use of a mechanical separationdevice 51. In certain embodiments, the seaparation device 51 may be adecanter system such as the TRICANTER from Flottweg SeparationTechnology, Germany, or a disc stack unit. The concentrated stillageproduct (minus the corn oil that was removed) is passed through a secondeffect 54 wherein steam from stream 48, through indirect heat exchange,causes a portion of the moisture contained within the concentratedstillage product to evaporate. This vapor is returned to distillationapparatus 18 via stream 56. The stillage product now comprises a viscoussyrup and is withdrawn from the second effect 54 via stream 58.Additional corn oil is can be removed via stream 60 (if not removed viastream 52) through the use of a second separation device 59. Thecombined stream 62 comprises the feedstock for the renewable dieselplant 14. The syrup having the oil removed therefrom is recovered as aproduct stream 64.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the corn oil may beextracted prior to fermentation. For example, the corn oil may beextracted via pressing or solvent extraction prior to fermentation. Insuch case, the processing of the thin stillage occurs as mentionedabove, with the exception of corn oil recovery.

The cake 42 from centrifuge 38 is conveyed toward drying apparatus 66 inwhich moisture is removed and DDGS produced. Drying apparatus 66comprises a dryer drum(s) 68 that is supplied by a hot air stream 70from heater 72. Heater 72 comprises a burner that is fueled generallywith a natural gas stream 74. However, as explained further below, incertain embodiments of the present invention, the natural gas can besupplemented or replaced with a fuel gas produced by the renewablediesel plant 14. The DDGS product is then removed from dryer 68 viastream 76. The exhaust gases 78 from dryer(s) 68 may comprise airpollutants, such as volatile organic compounds, that must be disposed ofprior to being released into the atmosphere. Thermal oxidation apparatus80 is generally provided for this purpose. As illustrated, apparatus 80comprises a thermal oxidizer 82. The dryer exhaust gases 78 are heatedby a burner located within a combustion chamber 84 fueled by a mixtureof natural gas supplied by stream 86, a flue gas recycle 88 andcombustion air 90. As explained in further detail below, the natural gasstream 86 may be supplemented or replaced by fuel gas produced byrenewable diesel plant 14. In alternate embodiments, thermal oxidationapparatus 80 can comprise a regenerative thermal oxidizer if a higherdegree of VOC removal is required. Waste heat from thermal oxidationapparatus 80 can be recovered from exhaust stream 92 and used togenerate steam within steam generator 94. The steam produced by steamgenerator 94 can then be directed to the steam distribution header viastream 96 for use within facility 10.

As noted above the corn oil stream 62 comprises a feedstock forrenewable diesel plant 14. Within renewable diesel plant 14, thetriglycerides making up the corn oil feedstock 62 are converted intohydrocarbon compounds that are essentially chemically identical to thosefound in petrodiesel fuels. The reaction process involves hydrogenationof the fatty acids making up the triglycerides. The hydrogenationreaction is conducted at relatively high temperatures. Therefore, thereactants are generally heated prior to being introduced into thereactor. As illustrated, the corn oil stream 62 is combined withhydrogen gas supplied via stream 98 and diesel recycle stream 100 andthen directed to a direct fired heater 102 where its temperature israised to between about 500° to about 650° F., and more preferably toabout 700° F. This heated reactants stream 104 is then directed to areaction system 106. In certain embodiments, reaction system 106utilizes two types of catalysts located in one or more reactors. Onecatalyst generally functions as a deoxygenating catalyst, and onecatalyst as an isomerization catalyst. In certain embodiments, thecatalysts may comprise molybdenum, and particularly alumina supportedmolybdenum. The reaction within reaction system 106 is exothermic, andtherefore a temperature increase results as the reactants progressthrough the system. Care should be taken to ensure that the temperaturedoes not become too high as thermal cracking of the products may occurand lead to fouling of the catalyst. Temperature control may be achievedthrough the use of a hydrogen quench system and diesel recycle.

The reaction products, which comprise the renewable diesel fuel,naphtha, and fuel gas are removed from reaction system 106 via stream108. As the reaction products are at an elevated temperature, heat maybe recovered therefrom and used to generate steam, which can then beutilized in other areas of facility 10. The reaction products may bepassed through a heat exchanger 110 for this purpose. Water, preferablywater that has been purified via reverse osmosis, may be supplied toheat exchanger 110 via stream 112 and steam produced. The steam may thenbe delivered to the steam distribution header via stream 114 where itcan be combined with steam from steam generator 94. As previously noted,steam supplied by the steam distribution header can be used in variousplaces throughout facility 10, and in particular within ethanol plant12. By combining the steam from stream 114 with steam produced by steamgenerator 94, at least a portion of the steam generated within therenewable diesel plant 14 can be utilized within ethanol plant 12, suchas in heat exchanger 26 or in the multiple effect evaporator 44, therebydecreasing the need for steam generation with external energy input. Itis understood that steam generated within renewable diesel plant 14 maybe utilized for other purposes within facility 10, and in particular,ethanol plant 12. For example, the steam may be used to supply heat forhydroheaters, evaporators, distillation columns, vaporizers, tankheaters, dryers, and utility steam heaters utilized within facility 10.

The cooled reaction products are then directed toward a distillationsystem 116 via stream 118 for separation and recovery of the variousreaction product components. Turning to FIG. 2, one embodiment ofdistillation system 116 is shown in further detail. Cooled reactantproducts stream 118 is fed to a first distillation column 120 wherein arenewable diesel fuel product meeting the requirements of ASTM D975 isrecovered via bottoms stream 122. As previously noted, a slipstream ofdiesel fuel 100 may be recycled upstream of the reaction system 106. Theoverhead stream 124, which comprises naphtha and fuel gas components canbe at least partially condensed by condenser 126 and delivered to aseparation vessel 128 where the fuel gas components in the vapor phasecan be removed via stream 130 and a portion of the liquid refluxed tocolumn 120 via stream 132 and another portion fed to a seconddistillation column 134 via stream 136. Within column 134, the remainingfuel gas is separated from the naphtha. The fuel gas overhead is removedvia stream 138 and the naphtha product via bottoms stream 32. Fuel gasstreams 130 and 138 may be combined to form stream 142 and directed to afuel gas separator vessel 144. Within separator vessel 144, anycondensable components, such as residual diesel and naphtha that mightbe present within fuel gas stream 142 can be separated and recycled toreactant products stream 118 via stream 146. The fuel gas is recoveredfrom vessel 144 via stream 148 and can be used within facility 10 asdescribed below. As noted above, the fuel gas may comprise a mixture ofC1-C4 hydrocarbon compounds, such as methane, ethane, propane, andbutane. The formation of these lower hydrocarbons is the result ofcracking of larger hydrocarbon molecules within reactor system 106.

In one embodiment of the present invention, at least a portion ofnaphtha stream 32, which may comprise any number of C5-C12 hydrocarboncompounds, may be combined with the ethanol from storage vessel 30 toprovide a denatured ethanol product as described above. It is understoodthat the naphtha denaturant may be added to the ethanol recovered fromdehydration unit 24 at any processing point prior to shipment. Forexample, the naphtha may be added directly to the ethanol stream 28 fromdehydration unit 24, directly to ethanol storage tank 30, or whiletransferring the ethanol to a vessel for storage or shipment. Any excessnaphtha recovered may be considered a salable product and disposed ofaccordingly.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the fuel gas stream 148may be utilized as a replacement for the natural gas fuel requirementsof various devices utilized within facility 10. For example, fuel gasstream by be directed, at least in part, to heater 102 within renewablediesel plant 14, to the burner of thermal oxidizing apparatus 80, and/orto the burner of air heater 72. The fuel gas may be sufficient toreplace at least some of the natural gas fuel requirements of one ormore these devices. There may be additional devices, which are notshown, but could be present within facility 10 that could also make useof the fuel gas supplied by stream 148. For example, the fuel gas may becombusted within a gas turbine of a generator for generating electricityto be used by various control systems within ethanol plant 12 orrenewable diesel plant 14. The fuel gas could also be utilized togenerate additional steam, such as in a boiler (e.g., a package boileras may be found in a plant employing a regenerative thermal oxidizer) ifsuch was required.

It is understood that the various integrations between renewable dieselplant 14 and ethanol plant 12 described above, may be carried out alltogether, individually, or in any combination thereof as therequirements of any given facility 10 dictate. However, in preferredembodiments, full advantage of the naphtha, fuel gas and steam producedwithin renewable diesel plant 14 is taken within ethanol plant 12thereby providing significant cost savings in the operation thereof.

I claim:
 1. An integrated process for the co-production of ethanol and renewable diesel fuel comprising: distilling an ethanol-containing beer within distillation apparatus of an ethanol plant to produce an ethanol-rich overhead stream and a solids-containing, whole stillage stream; recovering a corn oil product from said ethanol plant; reacting said corn oil product from said ethanol plant with hydrogen in a reaction system of a renewable diesel plant to produce a mixture of reaction products comprising renewable diesel fuel, fuel gas, and naphtha; directing said reaction products to a distillation system of said renewable diesel plant for separation of said reaction products into a renewable diesel fuel stream, a fuel gas stream, and a naphtha stream; and combusting at least a portion of said fuel gas stream within one or more devices located within or utilized during the operation of said ethanol plant.
 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein said fuel gas comprises one or more members selected from group consisting of butane, propane, ethane, and methane.
 3. The process according to claim 1, wherein said renewable diesel plant comprises a reactants heater located upstream of said reaction system, said reactants heater combusting at least a portion of said fuel gas stream to supply heat to said corn oil product and hydrogen entering said reaction system.
 4. The process according to claim 1, wherein said corn oil product is recovered from said whole stillage stream within whole stillage processing apparatus of said ethanol plant.
 5. The process according to claim 4, wherein said whole stillage processing apparatus comprises a centrifuge for separating said whole stillage stream from said distillation apparatus into a thin stillage stream comprising said corn oil product and a cake, said cake being directed toward drying apparatus comprising a cake dryer and a thermal oxidizer for treatment of a dryer exhaust stream produced by said dryer.
 6. The process according to claim 5, wherein said cake dryer is supplied with hot air from an air heater, at least a portion of said fuel gas stream being combusted within said air heater.
 7. The process according to claim 5, wherein said thermal oxidizer comprises a burner, at least a portion of said fuel gas stream being combusted within said thermal oxidizer burner.
 8. The process according to claim 1, wherein said ethanol plant is supplied with electrical power from a gas turbine, at least a portion of said fuel gas stream being combusted within said gas turbine.
 9. An integrated process for the co-production of ethanol and renewable diesel fuel comprising: distilling an ethanol-containing beer within distillation apparatus of an ethanol plant to produce an ethanol-rich overhead stream and a solids-containing, whole stillage stream; recovering a corn oil product from said ethanol plant; reacting said corn oil product from said ethanol plant with hydrogen in a reaction system of a renewable diesel plant to produce a mixture of reaction products comprising renewable diesel fuel, fuel gas, and naphtha; directing said reaction products to a renewable diesel distillation system for separation of said reaction products into a renewable diesel fuel stream, a fuel gas stream, and a naphtha stream; condensing at least a portion of said ethanol-rich overhead stream to produce an ethanol product stream; and adding at least a portion of said naphtha stream to said ethanol product stream to produce a denatured ethanol product.
 10. The process according to claim 9, wherein said ethanol product stream is dehydrated to form an enriched ethanol product stream, said naphtha stream being added to said enriched ethanol product stream to produce a denatured ethanol product.
 11. The process according to claim 10, wherein said denatured ethanol product comprises between about 0.01% to about 5% by volume of naphtha.
 12. The process according to claim 10, wherein said enriched ethanol product stream comprises approximately 200 proof ethanol.
 13. An integrated process for the co-production of ethanol and renewable diesel fuel comprising: distilling an ethanol-containing beer within distillation apparatus of an ethanol plant to produce an ethanol-rich overhead stream and a solids-containing, whole stillage stream; recovering a corn oil product from said ethanol plant; reacting said corn oil product from said ethanol plant with hydrogen in a reaction system of a renewable diesel plant to produce a mixture of reaction products comprising renewable diesel fuel, fuel gas, and naphtha; directing said reaction products through a heat exchanger to cool said reaction products and generate steam; directing said cooled reaction products to a renewable diesel distillation system for separation of said reaction products into a renewable diesel fuel stream, a fuel gas stream, and a naphtha stream; and directing said steam to a steam distribution header for providing steam to said ethanol plant.
 14. The process according to claim 13, wherein said corn oil product is recovered from said whole stillage stream within whole stillage processing apparatus of said ethanol plant.
 15. The process according to claim 14, wherein said whole stillage processing apparatus comprises a centrifuge for separating said whole stillage stream from said distillation apparatus into a thin stillage stream comprising said corn oil product and a cake, said ethanol plant further comprising a multiple effect evaporator, said thin stillage stream being directed through said multiple effect evaporator to remove moisture therefrom and form a syrup, said steam distribution header being operably connected to a first effect of said multiple effect evaporator and delivering at least a portion of said steam to said first effect.
 16. The process according to claim 13, wherein said ethanol-rich overhead stream has been condensed and is directed through an overhead heat exchanger that is operably coupled with said steam distribution header, at least a portion of said steam being directed through said overhead heat exchanger thereby said ethanol-rich overhead stream and forming an evaporated ethanol-rich stream.
 17. The process according to claim 16, wherein said vaporized ethanol-rich stream is directed to a dehydration unit wherein substantially all of the water comprising said ethanol-rich overhead stream is removed to produce an enriched ethanol stream.
 18. An integrated facility for the co-production of ethanol and renewable diesel fuel comprising: an ethanol plant comprising distillation apparatus operable to separate an ethanol-containing beer into an ethanol-rich overhead stream and a solids-containing, whole stillage stream; and corn oil recovery apparatus operable to produce a corn oil stream; and a renewable diesel plant comprising a reaction system operably coupled with said corn oil recovery apparatus to receive at least a portion of said corn oil stream and produce a reaction product stream comprising renewable diesel fuel, naphtha, and fuel gas; and a distillation system operable to separate said reaction product stream into a renewable diesel fuel stream, a naphtha stream, and a fuel gas stream, said fuel gas stream being operably coupled with one or more fuel gas-combusting devices located within or utilized during operation of said ethanol plant.
 19. The integrated facility according to claim 18, wherein said renewable diesel plant includes a reactants heat exchanger disposed downstream of said reaction system and upstream of said distillation system and operable to generate steam that is directed to a steam distribution header.
 20. The integrated facility according to claim 18, wherein said corn oil recovery apparatus comprises whole stillage processing apparatus operable to produce said corn oil stream and dried distillers grain with solubles (DDGS).
 21. The integrated facility according to claim 20, wherein said whole stillage process apparatus comprises a centrifuge operable to separate a whole stillage stream from said distillation apparatus into a thin stillage stream and a cake, and a multiple effect evaporator operable to produce a syrup from said thin stillage stream, said steam distribution header being operably coupled with a first effect of said multiple effect evaporator, steam generated by said reactants heat exchanger being directed to said first effect.
 22. The integrated facility according to claim 20, wherein said ethanol plant comprises an overhead heat exchanger operable to receive at least a portion of said ethanol-rich overhead stream and evaporate at least a portion thereof, said overhead heat exchanger being operably coupled with said steam distribution header, steam generated by said reactants heat exchanger being directed to said overhead heat exchanger.
 23. The integrated facility according to claim 19, wherein said ethanol plant comprises a dehydration unit operable to remove water from said ethanol-rich overhead stream and produce an enriched ethanol product stream, at least a portion of said naphtha stream from said renewable diesel plant being directed toward and combined with at least a portion of said enriched ethanol product stream to produce a denatured ethanol product.
 24. The integrated facility according to claim 19, wherein said one or more fuel gas-combusting devices are selected from the group consisting of: (a) a thermal oxidizer burner operably connected to thermal oxidizer apparatus receiving a cake dryer exhaust gas stream; (b) a cake dryer air heater operably connected with a cake dryer; and (c) a gas turbine; and (d) a boiler. 